Back from the trade show!

I got back from the National Needle Arts Association trade show late Monday night and am exciting to report that you will have the most fabulous yarn selection at fibre space! I spent most of Saturday night with large post it notes in a hotel room plotting out the different categories of yarn and what companies I wanted to bring in for each. I promise that it was well thought through, despite the fact that it occurred in the middle of the night.

I am bringing in two large national companies that are not widely carried in our area but offer amazing fibers at really really good prices. I was really excited by some of the fiber combinations that I saw for less than $6 a ball. (think cotton angora washable yarn for baby blankets!)

But I am most excited about some of the smaller companies that I discovered at the show.There is a rise in small family owned companies who are focused on eco friendly fibers or yarns produced from local farmers in cooperation with other local businesses. The shop will definitely have quite a few different companies that fall into this category.

AND, I found some amazing interesting fibers like cotton chenille for baby items and recycled silk yarn made from saris in India and Nepal. We are also carrying a huge line of hand dyed silk ribbons…

Perhaps the most exciting fiber that I found is a new yarn for the infamous beanie hat. I am working on a new hat pattern now that will use this new fiber…but can’t reveal quite yet what line this is from. I promise that you will all be very very happy to see it in the shop though.

My first yarn order shipped yesterday and while it was really exciting to see the UPS tracker notification, it also made me really really nervous. I don’t have any fixtures yet to put the yarn on! The first of the custom fixtures will arrive next Monday but the majority of my awesome fixtures won’t be in until July. In the meantime, I might just dump all of the gorgeous yarn on the nice new floors and roll around in it. Well, maybe not. I suppose it won’t be very nice to purchase then.

So I met someone that a few of you might be excited to know about….this is Miriam Felton from MimKnits on the right with the red wrap. I am wearing one of her new designs. (she is the designer of the Adams shawl!) On the left is Amy O’neill Houck who used to be local but moved to Alaska last year. We met a couple of years ago at A Tangled Skein. They are both part of the Stitch Cooperative, which brings together many amazing designers under one company and allows them to receive profits for their own designs at a much higher rate than the larger companies pay. I am excited to be bringing their designs into the shop, so look for some hip knit and crochet patterns from Amy and those amazing lace patterns from Miriam.

She will be doing a workshop down the road..we already chatted about it 🙂
I am going to be contacting other local shops so that we can share her expenses and have a series of events around the area on different topics. Hoping that A Tangled Skein and Nature’s Yarns will participate.